by Sharon Green
He made a noncommittal sound in response to my not-so-subtle jabbing, but still continued on with shucking his clothes. If nothing else he certainly was determined, and under other circumstances I might have complimented him on how difficult he was to discourage. Under these circumstances, though, I would be doing everything but complimenting him, if you considered doing nothing as part of doing everything. Most men, I'd been told, consider an unresponsive partner almost as bad as being thrown into an ice-cold river. I'd never before had occasion to test the contention, but this seemed like an excellent opportunity for it.
The dark form beside me was finally out of its clothes, and then it turned in my direction.
"We may now begin," he announced, just as though he were discussing a meal or a race - or maybe even a fight. "I'm not totally without knowledge of what's necessary, as Strangis and Frask, the Fighters who accompanied me on the journey here, felt it necessary to inform me of certain of the basics. The first thing I'm to do is take you in my arms."
"Well, well, love-making through instruction," I drawled with as much amusement as I could manage, purposely staying right where I was. "And to make it even better, instruction from Fighters. Have you ever heard what Blades say about Fighters?"
"I'm fairly sure we shouldn't be in the midst of a discussion right now," he said, his voice the least bit strained as a wide shadow-hand began reaching toward me. "Discussion is a distraction, and - "
"As far as Blades are concerned, Fighters do most of their practicing with each other," I went on, happily ignoring what he'd said. "Considering the fact that Fighters, unlike Blades, are all male, that makes their advice somewhat questionable. Listening to an ordinary Fighter is almost as bad as asking a King's Fighter."
"Almost as bad?" he said, pausing with his dark bar of an arm poised over me. "Why would asking a King's Fighter be worse?"
"You didn't know about King's Fighters?" I asked with a snicker, hopefully demoralizing him even more by hinting that those who didn't know were distinctly inferior. "They need the King's permission to wipe their noses, because independent thinking is entirely beyond them. If one of them ever actually manages to find his way to a night house, even the slaves try to run. I've heard it said many times that you'll never find a King's Fighter with only one hand. One would get tired too quickly, and they didn't mean that in reference to weapons."
I couldn't help laughing at that, remembering how long ago I'd first heard it from a Blade of my Company, but suddenly my laughter was interrupted. The arm hovering over me was abruptly around me instead, and I found myself being pulled up against a large male body.
"That's quite amusing," the Flower said, and I could almost have sworn he was taking my remarks personally. "Isn't it fortunate, then, that I didn't consult a King's Fighter. Now that I have you in my arms, I'm to kiss you."
To be entirely accurate he only had me in one arm just now, but he took care of that by sliding the other under me before lowering his head. What he didn't take care of was the blanket between us, but I wasn't about to point that out to him. Even in that deep a darkness he had excellent aim, his lips coming down right on top of mine, but after a moment or two he raised his head again.
"Perhaps I'm mistaken, but shouldn't there be some response to the kiss from you?" he asked, his voice almost more annoyed than questioning. "I'm certain I was told something about a response."
"You mean you were told to expect a response during rape?" I asked in turn, trying to keep the satisfaction out of my voice. "I suppose that's typical since the advice came from Fighters; they usually can't get a woman any other way. But I thought you said this was your experiment? And I thought you also understood I have no interest in it?"
"From what I was told you must have an interest in it, or I might as well end my efforts now," he returned, the annoyance somehow hardening his voice. "Is that what you want? To put all effort aside until our wedding night?"
"None of this was my idea, you mistake of Evon," I growled, moving against the arms he still had around me. "If I can't get interested it's not my fault, it's yours. Or didn't your very capable teachers tell that to their little virgin? Unless you expect me to do the raping, raising my interest is your job. If you're not up to it, shame on you."
As a reason for my lack of response that wasn't half bad, and it kept him quiet for a moment as he thought about it. I had to make his failure no one's fault but his own, nothing that I contributed to, or else he'd never voice his refusal to the marriage once we got back. For that same moment of his silence I thought he had decided to give up, but apparently Evon's luck was shining elsewhere.
"It seems I owe you an apology, my lady," he said at last, his voice not only back to where it had been, but smooth as steel on top of that. "I was indeed told that eliciting a response from a female was mine to do, but the matter had slipped my mind. Perhaps we'd best begin with that."
He released me enough to let me lie back flat on the blankets, then his reaching hand found the blanket still covering me and threw it aside. Rather than having forgotten about that blanket it seemed as though he'd been waiting for the proper time to remember it, and for some reason that very simple, very familiar gesture made me gasp.
"Now, now, my lady," he scolded gently when I tried to go after my cover, pressing me just as gently back down again. "You don't want me thinking you're not trying, do you? You're clothed in darkness, so the cover isn't necessary. Now let me see, what was the first thing I was supposed to do? Oh, yes."
This time his lips came to my body and throat, warm, soft lips that lingered only briefly before moving on. Losing my cover like that had upset me, as much as if someone had taken my mail just before battle, and now his kissing was making it worse. It wasn't as if I had any real need of the cover, or that I thought I might respond to him; it was just that I didn't like having all that done to me …when I didn't want it done … by someone like him…
"My dear lady, you really must relax those muscles," he murmured, kissing my face and ear before returning to my throat. "You surely can't be frightened of me?"
"Afraid of you?" I scoffed, moving my face to keep him away from it. "If there's anything I'm afraid of, it's dying of boredom or old age. Or maybe both. Can't you hurry it up a little?"
"I've been told that hurrying never pays," he said in that same murmur, and then his hand began to stroke my left side. "If you're not afraid of me, prove it by kissing me."
"But I don't want to k--" I began, then lost the rest of the protest when his lips covered mine. I tried to turn my face away again but somehow the fingers of his left hand had become entangled in my hair, and I couldn't move my head. At the same time his right hand slid over my breast, feeling nothing like the soft, pudgy hand I could just remember from somewhere, even though I'd expected it to feel the same. By what was probably pure accident his fingers moved in that special way I'd only felt once or twice before, and suddenly I found that I was actually kissing him back! A Flower, and I was kissing him!
The thought made me frantic enough to begin struggling, but the heat flashing through me was very distracting. I couldn't quite remember how long it had been since I'd last had a man, but it had obviously been much too long. My right hand pushed at the chest it rested on and my left went to the fingers on my breast, but neither effort did what I wanted it to. The lips on mine kept coaxing me for even more response, and the hand left my breast to slide down between my thighs. I moaned at what that touch did to me and tried to gasp, and then suddenly I could.
"My poor lady, has my clumsiness upset you?" he asked, the words so soft they felt like caresses instead. "You must bear with me, my sweet lady, for I attempt no more than what you asked of me. If you haven't the strength to accept it, you need only say so and I'll certainly stop."
"Me, not have the strength to stand anything you can do?" I panted, holding tight to his arm to keep from shivering. "That'll be the day. Just remember when none of this works out that I didn't do anything to inte
rfere with the experiment."
"I'll be sure to remember that," he said, sounding as though he wanted to chuckle. "And what do you think of this particular technique? I'm told by Frask that most men find it extremely effective."
The only answer I could give him was another gasp, the moan only just letting itself be swallowed. I couldn't understand why I was reacting that way, as though I were being touched by a real man, but as upsetting as the thought of his being a Flower was, it wasn't enough to turn me disinterested again. In spite of everything I was nearly on fire, and I didn't realize that my hand was moving from his arm to his shoulder and back again, until he did chuckle.
"Yes, you definitely aren't doing anything to interfere with the experiment," he murmured, beginning to kiss me again. "Shall we see where we might go to from here?"
He couldn't have been expecting an answer in words, as he immediately saw to it that I couldn't give one. I kept trying to remember that I wasn't supposed to respond to him, and I actually did hold out longer than I thought was humanly possible. After that I discovered I was feeling rather than thinking, and what I was feeling couldn't be stood any longer. I clawed at his back with my nails until he'd entered me, and then it was nothing but sensation without end.
* * *
Kylin lay in the blankets, very satisfyingly exhausted, his arms still around the sleeping girl. No, not "the girl," he thought, Sofaltis, the woman who would soon be his wife. She'd been as wild and responsive as he'd expected her to be, as deeply satisfying a mate as he could have hoped for - once he'd gotten around her understandable reluctance. He chuckled softly and leaned down to put his lips to the forehead he could only see as a dark shadow, wishing he could have built up the fire instead of letting it die, and also have left the stable lamp lit. He had wanted to see her as he made love to her, but that way she would have been able to see him as well - without his artfully made clothing. She had been suspicious and difficult enough without that, and the ploy had kept him from needing to explain where the fat had gone and the muscle had come from.
He grinned into the darkness at that, remembering how she had almost outmaneuvered him, coming up with that suggestion about a night house. He'd had to do some fast thinking to counter her, and had almost lost it again when she'd gotten him mad. He'd heard those comments about King's Fighters before from Blades, but those other times he'd been lucky enough to have the Blades be men - and he hadn't had any interest in making love to them. Once that charade was over and she was his wife, he'd have to remind her about what she'd said - and tell her what he would do about it if she ever said it again…
Sofaltis stirred in his arms and made a soft, sleepy sound, then snuggled up to him to get more comfortable. Awake, she probably would have denied vehemently that she was the snuggling sort, but that was the way Kylin liked her best. He tightened his arms around her just a little, knowing he would have to come up with something good if he was to have any hope of enjoying her again, and closed his eyes to get some sleep of his own.
Chapter 8
I came out of what felt like a very long, very refreshing sleep and stretched, then lay still in the blankets for a moment - until I remembered what had happened the night before. I sat up fast then, looking around the cave by the early morning light streaming in through the entrance, but the Flower was nowhere to be seen. Flower. I lay back and put my hand over my eyes, trying not to groan in too loud a voice. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing, but I was very much afraid I hadn't. If that was what all virgin Flowers were like, I couldn't understand why night houses didn't have them in chains, offering their use to the highest bidders. Possibly later, if I could do it anonymously, I'd make the suggestion myself -
"Ah, good morning, my lady," a sober, too-familiar voice said, bringing me back to a world I really didn't want to be in. "I trust you slept well. Would you care for something to break your fast before we begin the day's journey?"
"I find I have very little appetite this morning," I answered, lowering my hand so that I might see him. "I may be mistaken, but you don't look to have much of one yourself. What's the matter, couldn't you sleep after all that activity?"
"Please, my lady, I would prefer that you didn't mock me," he said, turning his head away with the same sober air I'd noticed a moment earlier. "I'm well aware of the fact that you upheld your end of the bargain, but I - couldn't quite manage what was required for too long a time. I think - perhaps - that if it should happen again - my course will be clear - "
His sigh of disappointment was so unexpected I sat up and blinked, wondering what he could possibly be talking about. The night before had been well beyond anything I might have imagined, and his staying power had been little short of incredible - oh. So that was it. He didn't know the difference between staying power and being unable to finish what he'd started, so he was seriously considering giving up on the idea of marriage! Suddenly the new day became much brighter for me and I discovered an interest in continuing on with life.
"How terrible it must have been for you," I commiserated, trying my best to match his sigh as I sat up. "Even though you ignored my warning, I'm sorry you had to go through that. We'll talk about it again later, and maybe by then you'll understand why trying it a second time will only bring you greater disappointment. Right now I think I will have something to eat - as soon as you give me what there is to wear."
"But my dear lady Sofaltis… I thought you understood," he said, looking back at me with surprise. "You already have all there is to wear. I left your father's castle in such haste, that the only clothing I brought with me is what I have on my back. Surely you don't believe I would have stayed in these filthy rags had I had any choice in the matter."
"No, I don't suppose you would have," I grudged, realizing he had to be telling the truth. "But that doesn't do anything to solve my problem. If you think I'm going to continue walking around naked, you're out of your mind."
"I certainly would not expect any such thing," he answered, huffy and just short of being insulted. "You'll remain wrapped in that blanket, I'll hold you in front of me on my horse, and before you know it you'll be home. I'll fetch what's left of the rabbit."
"You do that," I muttered under my breath as he turned and went back outside, then looked down in disgust at what my wardrobe would consist of for the next couple of days. The dimness of the cave made it difficult to tell, but the blanket seemed to be an unrelieved brown, and too close to Fighter brown for me to like it even a little. No clothes, no weapons, no horse - and my only companion a Flower who didn't know the difference between success and failure. If I managed to get home without going stark, raving mad, I'd find whoever was responsible for putting me into that mess and explain very slowly exactly how I felt about it. Very slowly, with the help of my boot knife.
Needless to say, the dim day that had suddenly turned beautiful had dimmed again, but I still ate what was left of the rabbit before we went out of the cave. The sun shone down on a horse almost completely packed for travel, the only thing left unpacked being the blanket I'd been lying on. Lord Kylin the Flower followed me out of the cave folding that, knowing damned well I couldn't do it. I was having enough trouble keeping my own blanket around me and off the ground to have any hands free for folding, and in the mood I was in even someone who could actually use the sword the Flower wore would have hesitated over asking for my help.
While I'd been eating the rabbit I'd been told "our" horse had been kept the night in the next cave over, and had already been watered and allowed to graze that morning before I awoke. I know I said something complimentary about all that work having been done so early; although I couldn't remember what it was, my companion developed a pleased look that didn't fade.
Once outside, my other blanket was tied behind the saddle, and then the Flower mounted "our" horse. I was already wondering how I would get up there without I losing my wardrobe, when my companion rode close and reached down to me.
"And now for you, my lady," h
e said, and then there were two arms wrapped around me and lifting! I barely had time for a yelp before I was settled sideways on the saddle in front of him, his right arm circling my back, his left hand using the reins to calm the dancing of our mount. His chuckling seemed to indicate amusement at my reaction, but amusement wasn't what I was feeling.
"How in Evon's sharpest hell did you do that?" I demanded, looking directly at him. "I've known men who couldn't take me off my feet when they stood facing me! I'm not small and I'm not light, so I'd like to know how you did that!"
"Have - ah - there really been those who had difficulty in lifting you?" he asked, too occupied with getting us moving in the proper direction to meet my eye. "Forgive me for saying so, but I find that difficult to believe. I experienced a good deal more hardship yesterday, when I needed to lift your unconscious body. Ah, and there's the road."
There, also, was a very convenient end to the answering of my question, which I couldn't help noticing hadn't been answered at all. I looked ahead through the trees to where the road could be seen, no longer pressing the point but not about to forget about it. Something very strange was going on, and I was determined to discover what.
Considering the double burden our mount carried, our progress along the road wasn't terribly swift. Hours of plodding went by with not enough miles being put behind us, and to add to that there wasn't a single sign of an inn. When I asked my companion about the last inn he'd passed coming from the castle, he made some vague reference to one he'd seen halfway through the first day of travel. It would have helped if that was the highway I'd taken from the north, then I would have known what was where. Since it wasn't I had no idea what was ahead, and my companion's reassurances weren't reassuring me.
It wasn't far from noon when he turned off the road to the left, into a pleasant, pretty meadow with a thick stand of trees on the far side of it. I had brought my arms out from under the blanket to keep from sweltering, but that was the only positive thing I'd been able to accomplish. My thoughts had pushed and shoved at the mystery surrounding my companion, but I couldn't get around the fact that I knew too little. He was "taken" with me when he shouldn't have been, he had chased after me when he shouldn't have, he was a good deal better in bed than any virgin had the right to be, and he was a lot stronger than average. That had to make him the strangest Flower who ever lived, or someone who was only pretending to be a Flower. I couldn't see what he would get out of a pretense like that, unless -
